Does stress overload set you awhirl with MS vertigo?

Vertigo is a veritably vile, but fairly common, symptom of multiple sclerosis. It’s sort of like being seasick on shore. It’s something akin to the feeling one experiences after riding a swirling, topsy-turvy carnival ride.

Vertigo is nasty.

It makes the MSer reel and stagger and hold onto anything within reach.

Yesterday, I grabbed the shower rail. Boy, was I glad it was there, especially standing in soapy, slippery shower bubbles.

Earlier, I tried riding a favorite horse. (Horseback riding is supposed to be helpful for rebuilding balance and conditioning for some people with conditions like MS.)

We plodded one lap around the equestrian arena and stopped in the center. I fairly swayed in the saddle, unintentionally cuing the well-trained mount to zigzag under my shifting weight.

Standing on the ground next to this sweet equine, I began taking a quick mental inventory. (Honestly, I wished I’d had the presence of mind to do that before climbing aboard.) I ran a quick tally in my head, recounting recent excitement and exasperation, wonders and worries.

Concerns for family members and friends, overloaded schedules, ongoing health challenges, issues with finances, less-than-pleasant messages received from certain individuals, stressful interactions, insufficient sleep, sudden life changes, and an ever-growing to-do list offered a start.

Z-z-z-z-zing! The stress-o-meter rated off the charts.

High-energy and high-emotion topics (both positive and negative) can combine to take life to a stress overload level, leaving an MSer wide open for symptomatic exacerbations.

So today I am a little awhirl. I’m running in circles, without even moving.

This CafePress cap cracks me up. "Vertigo - It's the reel thing." You bet it is.

Round and round and round we go. Maybe tomorrow it'll stop.

Image/s:

Public domain clip-art 

and

Vertigo cap – product photo – fair use

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